Political homes

The driveway off of South Grade Road in Alpine meanders up a hillside covered in dry brush and scrub oak trees and pocked with granite boulders.

Four homes are located along the driveway. Rep. Duncan D. Hunter, R-Alpine, lives in one of them.

Hunter, 35, represents California’s 52nd Congressional District. He has lived in the four-bedroom, three-bathroom house since 2009, shortly after starting his first term. The home’s value is estimated at $460,000, according to real estate website Zillow.com.

The Watchdog sought to verify that San Diego’s five congressional delegates actually live in the districts they represent after longtime Indiana Senator Richard Lugar’s defeat in the state primary last month, partially caused by revelations that Lugar for years did not live in the state.

To determine the residential status, The Watchdog checked public records and contacted each representatives’ office with a brief questionnaire. A reporter is also visiting each neighborhood to get a sense of community roots.

“The extent of the information I’ll disclose is that Mr. Hunter and his family (wife, three children) live in Alpine (house),” spokesman Joe Kasper wrote. “It’s in the current district (52) and it’s within the boundaries of the new district. He’s at home when he’s not in DC.”

The Watchdog obtained the address off of Hunter’s statement of candidacy forms. According to his congressional financial disclosure forms, Hunter has no other income-generating assets, which would include commercial or rental properties.

The Watchdog visited the neighborhood to see how often neighbors see Hunter. Unlike his colleagues who live in denser communities, Hunter doesn’t have many neighbors. One of the homes along the driveway is currently vacant, neighbors were not home at a second house, and a third neighbor declined to comment.

Another measure of roots in the district is what kind of accommodations a representative has in the Washington, D.C., area. Several of Hunter’s colleagues have homes there larger than their homes here. Not so for Hunter.

Asked whether Hunter has a home in Washington when Congress is in session, Kasper said that Hunter is one of a growing number of members of congress, mostly Republican, who bed down in their congressional offices as a statement of thriftiness.